Follow up to Prius Brake problem

Mower_MomDecember 27, 2005

As a follow up to a thread from last month, if you recall I have a Prius whose rear brakes (the right rear brake, as it turns out) seize when it rains. I've taken the car in a couple of times since we last chatted, and they finally started taking the problem very seriously and they were able to make it happen by wetting down the rear wheels. I was wrong about the type of rear brakes I have - they are shoes, not discs. After many discussions with other dealerships and with headquarters, they still had never heard of this problem or what to do about it or what's causing it. What they said they finally did was to lightly sand the shoe and make some small adjustments. Yesterday was the first day that it rained since they did that two weeks ago. We were out in the car running errands all day, and thought we were free and clear but after 4 hours out in the rain, the right rear brake seized again. This time it was not quite as violent as the prevous episodes, so maybe what they did helped a little, but coming to a stop the wheel basically froze and the tire was just dragged to a stop - we could feel the skid from that side. At this point I think we should negotiate with the dealership to replace that brake altogether. I don't know if we can just replace one or if they would both need to be replaced, similar to replacing tires. We are just so sick and tired of this whole thing. The main difficulty is recreating the problem, since it has to be raining, have been driven in the rain, and not have sat afterwards for any length of time because the problem goes away when it dries out.

Ensure that the automatic adjuster is right.
It is incredible that the shoes are expanding that much, but this is something that affects all drum brake cars, but they usually do not overreact to the water/moisture..
Toyota should replace the entire assembly, both sides, of course - they are rich enough --..

They should have, by now, at least have replaced the rear shoes and maybe both drums - nothing hard about that..

Another factor, with front drive, the rear is lightly loaded......This could happen to the big rigs all the time, but they are so heavy that this would never be noticed and the moisture would be quickly dissipated..